Green Left (Denmark)

Green Left Socialistisk Folkeparti
Abbreviation	SF F[a]
Chairperson	Pia Olsen Dyhr
Founder	Aksel Larsen
Founded	15 February 1959
Split from	Communist Party of Denmark
Headquarters	Christiansborg Palace, Prins Jørgens Gård, 1240 Copenhagen
Youth wing	Popular Socialist Youth of Denmark[1]
Membership (2022)	8,995[2]
Ideology	Democratic socialism[3] Green politics[3][4] Popular socialism[5]
Political position	Centre-left[6] to left-wing[7][8]
European affiliation	European Green Party
European Parliament group	Greens–European Free Alliance
International affiliation	Global Greens (associate)
Nordic affiliation	Nordic Green Left Alliance
Colours	Red   Green   Pink (customary)[9][10][11]
Folketing	15 / 179[b]
European Parliament	3 / 14
Regions[12]	14 / 205
Municipalities[13]	168 / 2,436
Mayors	2 / 98
Election symbol
F
Website
sf.dk
Politics of Denmark Political parties Elections

The Green Left^[14] (Danish: Socialistisk Folkeparti lit. 'Socialist People's Party', SF) is a democratic socialist political party in Denmark.^[3]

The Socialist People's Party (SF) was founded on 15 February 1959 by Aksel Larsen, a former leader of the Communist Party of Denmark (DKP), who was removed for criticizing the Soviet intervention in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Larsen aimed to create a third way between Denmark's U.S.-oriented social democracy and Soviet-oriented communism, combining democracy with socialism. SF entered the Folketing in the 1960 Danish general election, while the DKP lost its seats. SF became involved in peace, anti-nuclear, and grassroots movements, advocating for independence from the Soviet Union.

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, SF experienced fluctuating electoral success, gaining significant influence in the peace and environmental movements. Under Gert Petersen's leadership from 1974, SF broadened its appeal, focusing on environmental and gender politics. The party opposed Denmark's entry into the European Economic Community in the 1972 referendum, which boosted its membership and support. In the 1980s, SF reached its peak with 27 seats in the Folketing, but faced internal conflicts over EU policies, resulting in fluctuating support.

In the 1990s and 2000s, SF continued to influence Danish politics, supporting the Poul Nyrup Rasmussen government from 1993 to 2001. Under Holger Nielsen's leadership, SF opposed the 1992 Danish Maastricht Treaty referendum, but supported the Edinburgh Agreement. The party saw mixed electoral results, gaining seats in some elections and losing in others. Villy Søvndal became party chair in 2005, shifting SF further left and emphasizing professionalism, focus groups, and media strategies. In the 2007 election, SF doubled its seats, becoming the fourth-largest party.

SF joined the coalition government led by Helle Thorning-Schmidt in 2011, marking its first participation in the cabinet. However, internal conflicts and controversies led to SF leaving the coalition in 2014. Under Pia Olsen Dyhr's leadership since 2014, SF supported the Mette Frederiksen-led Social Democrat minority government after the 2019 election. Despite the "red bloc" winning a narrow majority in the 2022 election, SF became the largest opposition party when Frederiksen formed a unity government with the Liberal Party and Moderates.

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